How to grow sweet potatoes in the UK

How to grow sweet potatoes in the UK



Sweet potatoes are traditionally grown in warmer climates but don't be put off. New, hardier cultivars mean that now you can grow sweet potatoes in the UK. Follow our tips on how to grow sweet potatoes in a cooler climate.

What are sweet potatoes?

sweet potatoes in basket

Despite its name the sweet potato is not a potato at all! This tasty root vegetable is a member of the Ipomoea family; the same genus as the popular flowering climber 'Morning Glory'. You will certainly notice the family resemblance from their pretty trumpet shaped flowers and vigorous spreading growth habit. Sweet potatoescome in a range of colours from orange to purple, and it's not just the skins that are coloured - the flesh is too, so they look spectacular on the plate! Better still they're low fat, containing only 90kcal per 100g, and loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin A potassium, and fibre. The leaves and tips of young shoots can even be cooked as a spinach substitute. In fact Sweet Potatoes are the healthy-eating superstars of the root vegetable world!

Which sweet potato to grow?

Most sweet potatoes are suitable for growing in the UK, although 'Carolina Ruby' is considered to be particularly reliable. For a brightly coloured skins try 'T65' - its red skins contrast nicely with the creamy, white flesh.

Sweet potato slips

Sweet potato slips

Unlike normal potatoes, sweet potatoes are grown from 'slips'. These are the long shoots that have been removed from 'chitted' sweet potato tubers. 'Slips' don't have roots, although sometimes there are signs of small roots beginning to appear. The roots will grow once the 'slip' has been planted. Whilst it is possible to grow your own 'slips' from supermarket sweet potatoes, most supermarket varieties are not sufficiently hardy to grow well in the UK so crops are likely to be disappointing.

When they arrive the 'Slips' will look withered, but place them in a glass of water overnight and they will quickly recover. The next day you can plant them up individually into small pots of multi-purpose compost. When planting sweet potato slips, it's important to cover the whole length of the stem, so that it is covered right up to the base of the leaves. Try our 'Sweet Potato Potting On Kit' to give them a really good start.


Storing sweet potatoes


Where to plant sweet potatoes

sweet potato grow bag



Growing sweet potatoes


Sweet potatoes have a vigorous growth habit and long sprawling stems. In the greenhouse it may be useful to train the stems onto strings or trellis to keep them tidier. Outdoors you can simply spread the stems out around the plant. Pinch out the growing points of stems that extend beyond 60cm (2â) to encourage more lateral stems to develop.

Harvesting sweet potatoes


Sue Sanderson T&M horticulturalist

Written by: Sue Sanderson



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